NFL roundup: Saturday to retire Sunday

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchangeJanuary 26, 2013

Sunday's Pro Bowl will be the last game of a 14-year NFL career for Jeff Saturday. The longtime Colts center said Friday on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis that he is retiring. Saturday ended his career this season with the Green Bay Packers. "We'll finish it with sunsets in Hawaii and call it a much better career than I would have anticipated," Saturday said. Saturday landed on the NFC Pro Bowl roster despite being replaced late in the season as the Packers' starting center by Evan Dietrich-Smith. Saturday's legacy will include six Pro Bowls and being the man who snapped the ball to quarterback Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. Saturday started 182 games for the Colts from 1999 to 2011.

---A report that the New York Jets might be interested in trading heralded cornerback Darrelle Revis has suitors starting to line up for a chance to land one of the NFL's best players. One general manager called the prospect "one of the biggest potential trade markets for a player ever," according to CBSSports.com. Multiple reports indicate a growing desire on the Jets' part to listen to offers for Revis, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2012. The team is looking to free up salary-cap space. "There's a gold rush forming," a general manager said.

---Free-agent linebacker Aaron Maybin joined his third NFL team in five years Friday when he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. The team did not announce terms of the contract, but Maybin will be added to the active roster on Feb. 4. Buffalo's 2009 first-round draft pick spent two mostly unproductive seasons with the Bills before signing as a free agent with the Jets. In 2011, Maybin led the Jets with six sacks and four forced fumbles, but he managed only four tackles in eight games this past season and was released on Nov. 13.

---Disgruntled wide receiver Titus Young has turned to Twitter again to express his feelings about the Detroit Lions. Earlier this week, Young used social media to say he would retire unless the Lions put the ball in his hands more often. On Friday, Young continued to complain. "Oh I'm not done, if y'all going to cut me let me go. I'm tired of the threats," Young tweeted. "Never needed the money Give me a dollar and a ball bet I come back #HallofFame." Lions coach Jim Schwartz responded this week by saying it's not a good idea to voice your concerns about the team in a public forum. "We obviously still got some ground to cover there," Schwartz said.

---Bettors are putting a lot of money on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Super Bowl XLVII. In fact, it's a good bet that Kaepernick could wind up as the player with the most money wagered on him in prop bets in Super Bowl history, according to an ESPN.com report. Jimmy Vaccaro of William Hill said the money is pouring in on Kaepernick, who took over as the starter in November and helped lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl matchup on Feb. 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. Part of Kaepernick's popularity in Las Vegas has to do with his tie to the state as a former University of Nevada standout. "We put 10 props on him last week and generated more than $100,000 in bets," Vaccaro told ESPN. "To put that in perspective, a good prop is when you can draw $2,500 to $5,000 in bets." Prop bets on Kaepernick so far include whether he will have 100 yards rushing and 300 yards passing, and if he'll throw a touchdown pass or an interception first. Vaccaro said Kaepernick could surpass quarterback Peyton Manning with the amount of money wagered on a player since prop bets began in Super Bowl XX. "We think we can do $300,000 in Kaepernick prop bets alone, and that's a conservative estimate," Vaccaro told ESPN. "No one has ever come close to that number."

---Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten will receive the Bart Starr Award given annually to an NFL player for outstanding character and leadership off the field. Witten will be presented with the honor at a Super Bowl breakfast on Feb. 1 in New Orleans. Other finalists for the award were Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. Among Witten's charitable endeavors are his SCORE Foundation, which supports various domestic-violence outreach programs and building projects in Texas and his native Tennessee.

---The Kansas City Chiefs announced Friday that they hired Al Harris as their secondary coach, Mark DeLeone as a quality control coach and they are keeping assistant strength coach Brent Salazar. Kansas City also signed wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker. Harris, who played 15 years in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams, will start his first year as an assistant coach. He was a two-time Pro Bowl defensive back. DeLeone was with the New York Jets in 2012. Salazar has been the Chiefs' assistant strength coach for six years. Shoemaker, an undrafted free agent last year, was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to training camp.

---The Oakland Raiders announced Friday that their coaching staff is complete with the hire of linebackers coach Bob Sanders. Sanders held the same position with the Buffalo Bills in 2012. He joined them in 2009 as defensive line coach and move to outside linebackers coach in 2010-11. Sanders, a 33-year coaching vet, was the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator from 2006-08. He joined Green Bay in 2005 as defensive ends coach. He coached collegiately as an assistant at East Carolina, Richmond, Duke and Florida, before going to the Packers.